James Frey on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' (2006)

James Frey on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' (2006)

George Burns / Harpo Productions

After James Frey admitted to fabrications in his bestselling memoir "A Million Little Pieces," Oprah Winfrey apologized to viewers for her defense of the embattled author and then grilled him and the publisher on national television. Frey did not apologize to Winfrey or to readers but admitted lying about the book's accuracy and making mistakes in its handling. "It certainly hasn't been a great couple of weeks for me," he said, "but I think I come out of it better." In an extraordinary live broadcast of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," the top-rated talk show host admitted that she "made a mistake" in backing Frey, whose harrowing account of his drug addiction and rehabilitation had been questioned by the Smoking Gun website and others.

After James Frey admitted to fabrications in his bestselling memoir "A Million Little Pieces," Oprah Winfrey apologized to viewers for her defense of the embattled author and then grilled him and the publisher on national television. Frey did not apologize to Winfrey or to readers but admitted lying about the book's accuracy and making mistakes in its handling. "It certainly hasn't been a great couple of weeks for me," he said, "but I think I come out of it better." In an extraordinary live broadcast of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," the top-rated talk show host admitted that she "made a mistake" in backing Frey, whose harrowing account of his drug addiction and rehabilitation had been questioned by the Smoking Gun website and others. (George Burns / Harpo Productions)

After James Frey admitted to fabrications in his bestselling memoir "A Million Little Pieces," Oprah Winfrey apologized to viewers for her defense of the embattled author and then grilled him and the publisher on national television. Frey did not apologize to Winfrey or to readers but admitted lying about the book's accuracy and making mistakes in its handling. "It certainly hasn't been a great couple of weeks for me," he said, "but I think I come out of it better." In an extraordinary live broadcast of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," the top-rated talk show host admitted that she "made a mistake" in backing Frey, whose harrowing account of his drug addiction and rehabilitation had been questioned by the Smoking Gun website and others.